


The Universe and Dorian's Stupidity

by respoftw



Series: Infinity and Beyond [5]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Established Relationship, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 17:35:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7810993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/respoftw/pseuds/respoftw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being the son of a genius isn't easy...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Universe and Dorian's Stupidity

Rodney knew something was wrong as soon as he walked through the door of their quarters. It was the silence that clued him in. Dorian was never an especially silent child - something he definitely got from the McKay side of the family - but he had been extra excitable and extra loud for the past few weeks, counting down to his very first day at school.

They had argued - him and John - over whether Dorian should be sent back to Earth for school. It had been the worst argument they'd ever had, eclipsing Chaya or Doranda by a light year. John's tentative suggestion that they didn't have to go to Earth _with_ Dorian, that they could stay in Atlantis while he attended school, only coming home for the holidays had resulted in Rodney and Dorian moving out of their rooms for a week.

It was the worst week of Rodney's life.

Teyla had finally got them talking again, John falling over himself to assure Rodney that he would never want Dorian to leave and that he was just trying to do right by their son and Rodney holding him close and swearing that he knew that, of course he knew that, _I'm an idiot_. With Elizabeth's help they had set about convincing the IOA that a school on Atlantis was a good idea.

Dorian wasn't the only kid in Atlantis these days. The defeat of the Wraith had relaxed things enough that other little family units had formed and Carson had taken an OB-GYN surgeon on staff permanently over a year ago. Really, a school was the next logical step and - once given the go ahead - Rodney had set about scrupulously vetting the candidates for the vital role of Dorian's primary (well, secondary after him) educator.

Dorian had been beyond excited, Rodney's enthusiasm infecting him easily, and after being asked every day for a solid week if today was the day, John had set up a calendar on Dorian's wall that they helped him score off each morning on the run down to the big day.

Today had been the big day and as he and John had snapped dozens and dozens of pictures of Dorian in his green school polo shirt, Rodney had felt vindicated in his insistence that the school kids should get a uniform. If the particular shade of green he picked had looked amazingly cute against Dorian's blonde curls and hazel eyes, well, that was just coincidence.

Dorian had been smiling and chattering away as they walked him down to the rooms that had been refurbished into the Pegasus Elementary School, as happy and inquisitive as he always was. Rodney had only been slightly disappointed that he hadn't cried when he realised that they would be leaving him there but the mist in John's eyes more than made up for it.

Rodney had been glad of the electrical fire in section 36b and the decryption of a previously locked part of the Ancient database because it had kept him from being the overbearing parent and checking on Dorian during the day. He wasn't quite as keen on the way those same things had meant that he missed picking Dorian up from school but the thought of hearing all Dorian's excited babbling at dinner time had got him through the day and back to their quarters with a skip in his step.

The silence was unnerving.

John jumped up to greet him as soon as Rodney set foot through the door.

"Jesus, Rodney, I don't know what to do," he said, casting a quick look over his shoulder towards the closed door of Dorian's room.

Rodney felt his heart thump in his chest - a litany of imagined catastrophes running through his mind. "What is it?" he asked. "Is Dorian OK? Did something happen at school because I swear to God that I - -"

"Something happened today but he won't tell me what it was, he just ran to his room and threw himself on his bed as soon as he got home. He won't tell me what's wrong, won't even talk to me except to ask me to leave him alone." John ran his hands through his hair, the dark spikes sticking in every direction. "I'm about a second away from bringing Carson in but I'm hoping he'll talk to you."

That was a lot of words for John, but Rodney had learned early on that John could always find the words when it came to their son. Watching people's faces as they listened to John rave about Dorian and his lofty achievements (like squeezing the toothpaste onto his toothbrush for the first time) always brought a smile to Rodney's face. He could almost see the conflict in their faces as they tried to reconcile the usually taciturn Colonel Sheppard with this proud and babbling parent. It was another tangible piece of evidence - as if Rodney needed any - that made the case for John Sheppard as the best co-parent he could ever have imagined. This panic, this helplessness, was usually Rodney's gig. John remained as unflappable in his role as parent as he did as military commander.

(Well, OK, there had been a minor flap at the revelation that Dorian wasn't your usual Pegasus kid and had some sort of mystical connection with the water that nobody fully understood yet but Rodney was willing to overlook that.)

John practically pushed Rodney towards Dorian's closed door and hovered warily next to him as he rapped his knuckles against the frame.

"Dor? Baby?" he called. "Where's my welcome home cuddle?"

Rodney had expected the long-suffering insistence that " _m'not a baby anymore!_ " at the very least but all that answered him was a stifled sniffle. Concerned, he looked at John who spread his hands in an 'I told you so' fashion. Rodney sighed and tried again.

"Cmon, Dorian," he said. "I missed you today and I want to hear all about school and - -"

A bitten off sob sounded from the room at the mention of school and only John's warm, steady hands on his shoulders, keeping him in place, stopped him from storming out the room, marching up to the newly appointed Dr. Lewicky and demanding what the hell she had done to break his son.

"Focus on Dor," John murmured. "He's the important thing right now."

Rodney nodded. Of course John was right. "Should we just go in there or - -" he trailed off even before John's shake of the head. No, that wouldn't be right. They'd both tried so hard to enforce the idea that Dorian's room was his safe space that intruding on it, overruling his decision to hide there when it wasn't an emergency would have been wrong.

Deciding that he was here for however long it took, Rodney slid down the wall and settled himself on the floor beside the door. John got into place beside him, the press of his long legs against Rodney's own a welcome comfort.

"School didn't go so well, huh?" Rodney asked softly. "If you just tell me what happened I'm sure I can talk to Dr. Lewicky. If the work was too easy for you then we could - -"

Dorian's heartbreaking sobs got a little louder at that and John pressed his lips together, meeting Rodney's wide eyes with a shake of his head. "Maybe too easy wasn't the problem," he whispered.

"It's first grade," Rodney whispered back. "He already reads at a third grade level, knows all his numbers and colours in the damn lines. How could it be too hard?" Still, Dorian's tears seemed to correlate with John's theory and Rodney was a scientist above almost everything else. "Is that it, baby?" Rodney asked. "Was it too difficult? Because I can speak to Dr. Lewicky about that too."

"Stupid."

Rodney flinched at the hurt in Dorian's voice.

"What's stupid? You think school's stupid?"

"No," Dorian sobbed. " _I'm_ stupid."

John sat up on his knees and moved his hand so it was resting against Dorian's door. "Don't you ever say that, buddy. Never ever."

"S'true," Dorian wailed. "The QI test said so. Dr. 'Wicky said that I was s'posed to be a genius like my Daddy but that the test was disa -" his breath hitched on another sob, "disappointing."

Rodney's eyes promised murder but his voice was soft as he spoke through the door. "Did the Doc give you an IQ test, baby?"

"Uh-huh, that's what I said."

"I'm gonna kill her," he hissed at John.

"Fine," John whispered back. "I'll help you but can we please focus on Dor right now?"

"You know that we'd never be disappointed in you, right?" Rodney said. "We both love you so, so much."

"Not if I'm stupid," Dorian said. "You won't love me if I'm stupid. You don't like stupid people."

Rodney felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. Hearing his own words thrown back at him like that, twisted as an attack against his own son, his own blood..it felt like all the air had been sucked from the room.

"Baby," he pleaded, "I would love you no matter what. You could grow gills or a fishy tail and I would love every inch of you." Dorian didn't give any reaction but John's shoulder knock encouraged him to go on. "You could decide to be a professional football player and I would still love you. You could tell me that the world is flat and I'd still love you. You could, you could even decide to become vegetarian and y'know what? I'd still love you."

"What about an English professor?" Dorian asked softly.

Rodney smiled. "I'd still love you, Dor. I mean, I might send you to your room to think about it and you'd be grounded for at least a month but --"

Dorian's door slid open and Rodney found his arms filled with a too warm and still teary five year old.

"I'm sorry that I'm not a genius Daddy."

Rodney hugged him close, not even minding the snot that was soaking into his shirt. "Never apologise for who you are," he soothed. "You are perfect and we love you just the way you are."

Dorian nodded into his neck. "Love you too."

"Hey," John's voice interrupted, "can Dadas get in on this cuddle pile or -"

Rodney and Dorian exchanged a smirk and pounced, pushing John to the floor and tickling him until he begged for mercy.

Dorian seemed much more upbeat as they headed out to dinner, smiling and laughing again.

It was only when he pulled his homework out after dinner that his smile faded. John and Rodney both hovered near the table that Dorian was sat at, not liking the worried frown on Dorian's face one bit.

"Dada?" Dorian asked tentatively. "I know you're not s'posed to but can you help me with these numbers?"

John, who, like Rodney, had been itching to interrupt and help, was over to the table in a flash.

"Sure, buddy," he said. "What are you working on?"

"Fractions," Dorian replied miserably before admitting in a much quieter tone, "I don't understand them."

"What?!" Rodney exclaimed from his hovering place nearby. "Fractions? That's far too advanced for a five year old. What the hell is she thinking?"

Dorian drew in on himself and Rodney's tone softened. "I'm not mad at you, Dor," he promised, "I'm mad at Dr. Lewicky. I promise you're not stupid, baby. It's not you, it's her. This work is too hard for you, you need to learn the basics first before you can build on them."

"Really?" Dorian asked hopefully. "I'm not stupid?"

"Hey," John said, "what did we say about using that word?"

Dorian ducked his head in apology.

"Besides," John continued, "you are definitely not stupid because you got 8 out of 10 of these right."

"He did?" Rodney exclaimed.

"I did?" Dorian gasped at the same time.

"Did Dr. Lewicky tell you what your IQ score was, buddy?" John asked carefully.

"140," Dorian said quietly.

"Oh my God, I'm literally going to kill her," Rodney swore.

"Why?" Dorian asked. "Is that really bad?"

"No, buddy," John laughed. "It's really good."

"I'm not stupid?" he asked.

"No," John promised, "you're not stupid but remember what your Daddy said."

"You both love me no matter what."

"That's right, baby." Rodney said. "No matter what."

"I'm not a baby," Dorian said with a pout that was 100% Sheppard. "I go to school now, m'not a baby!"

"You'll always be my baby," Rodney ruffled Dorians's curls. "Now, tell me what else that soon to be fired excuse for a teacher taught you today."

**Author's Note:**

> The whole Dorian and water explanation will come, this idea just bit me in the ass and wouldn't let go.... Come find me on tumblr @ buffycuddlespigs


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